Time Machine
by hotpinkandpurple
Summary: "Good Luck Charlie." If only it were that easy. Charlie has a rough life in high school but there may be a way to fix it. Will she have a happy ending or end up unlucky forever? One- shot. Charlie- centric. Hints of Teddy/Spencer and Gabe/Jo.


**A/N: So this is my first Good Luck Charlie story but I have been watching the show for a while :). Ignore my smiley faces if you want, I love them! **

**I'm not sure of the age difference between the kids so just ignore any mistakes.**

**This is going to be really sad at first but read to the end. It'll get better, I can tell you that.**

**So this was inspired by an **_**amazing**_** GLC story I read called "Thanks, I'll Need It" by writerchic16 except this one is a bit more angsty and sad… I'm not trying to steal the idea, I swear, I give all credit to writerchic, and this isn't even much like that incredible one- shot except the part where Charlie watches the video diaries. So, with that out of the way, I'm going to start the story. Or disclaimer. Or whatever.**

**Disclaimer: Yeah, I really own Good Luck Charlie. Seriously. **_**Not.**_

I sighed and dropped my backpack on the couch and lay down, absolutely exhausted from my long day at school. I would do anything to get out of there. It's a torture chamber, kind of like prison, except most of those people deserved to be in there but I never did anything to anyone…

I tried to be nice. I tried to make friends. I tried to be popular. I tried to make people like me. _I tried,_ but nothing worked. I was just Charlie Duncan, the freak with no friends. The weird girl that has nowhere to sit and the "oh, wait- that's a Duncan?"

Her teachers were shocked to find that out. They were Gabe's high school teachers, and before that, Teddy's high school teachers, and before that, PJ's high school teachers. They could have even been mom's and dad's teachers, since Charlie's siblings were practically her parents anyways.

Charlie's teacher's all either expected her to be a major troublemaker like Gabe, a total brainiac like Teddy, or the class clown like PJ. But no, I was barely noticeable. I wouldn't leave a mark, and when Toby got to high school and when they found out he was a Duncan, they were going to think of Teddy and PJ and Gabe and their parents and not Charlie, because she's not important. Not to them.

Most of the girls in school teased her about her outfits and how she's so boring they'd rather talk to a board than her and how she has a boy's name and crap like that. So Charlie had tried to change it. She had begged her mom to go shopping but they couldn't afford it until dad got his paycheck. When he did, they went shopping and Charlie picked out some nice clothes but it didn't matter because the girls just teased her and made mean remarks about how she could have dressed in a _rag_ and looked better than she did in those clothes and how, "oh, are you trying to fit in now? How adorable. Sarcasm! Sweetie, you'll never know what that means. And maybe it's best if you don't!"

Next, Charlie had tried to change her "boringness," even though she didn't think she was boring. She had read magazine articles and searched online for how _not _to be boring but it still didn't work. The girls hated her no matter what.

Charlie knew by now that this wasn't going to work, but she was desperate so she tried it anyway. She started going by Charlotte, because that was so obviously _not_ a boy's name, but then they started talking in "whispers" about how Charlie was really a boy trying to pass off as a girl because "he" liked boys. Charlie had started crying right then and there and that just made it worse. Life sucked.

Charlie started crying at the memory and shut her eyes tight, wanting desperately to give up and just live in a perfect world, with no mean girls and frustrating homework and threats of going homeless, but she knew that wasn't possible.

Charlie got out her Teddy's video diaries that she had made for her. She was on her 379th one, which was one of the last ones. She had started watching when she started middle school and they had helped her out a bit. She had even had friends then! But when high school hit, for some weird reason, everything fell apart.

She was now in her junior year in high school and she was just barely passing. She never got any sleep and could barely keep her eyes open during class. She was constantly being harassed by her bullies. To top it all off, her parents were going broke and they may lose the house.

She hit play and the tape started playing. Teddy had filmed this one when she was 23. She kept them going for a really long time. She had to take a break from them while she was in college but she started right where she left off when she came back, like nothing had changed, when in reality, a lot had.

"Hey Charlie!" Teddy exclaimed excitedly on the screen. "Guess what day it is today? It's Spencer and I's 7 year anniversary! Yay! And guess what… He proposed! And I said yes! We're engaged now! Oh my goodness Charlie… And Gabe and Jo are now celebrating their two year anniversary, which is so cute. I'll probably have to go to another wedding just a few years after mine," she muttered, laughing. "_Anyways,_ I just wanted to tell you the news and say that I really hope you find a guy as great as Spencer… Despite the whole cheating part…" she mumbled bitterly and then finished it off with, "well, if you don't then… Good luck Charlie."

The recording stopped and Charlie sighed again. She faintly remembered biting Spencer when she was a baby and being right about him, even though she never actually said anything. She laughed at the memory, despite the horrible feeling in her stomach.

She wished she could go back to then, when everything was easier. She wished she had a time machine and she could transport herself back and everything would be okay. But she couldn't, and she'd just have to make the best of it… Somehow.

Charlie watched the next few video tapes, including two _wedding_ tapes. The first one included Teddy and Spencer walking down the aisle, Teddy looking gorgeous, of course. The second one was of Gabe and Jo. Watching it, Charlie smiled. Teddy was right. Of course.

Charlie knew that the two now- married couples were still together, which was weird because from what she heard from her siblings, married couples never stayed together. Well, their parents did and I guess they just passed it down to Teddy and Gabe to where they could stay married without going totally insane.

Teddy, PJ, Gabe, and Charlie still kept in touch. PJ and Gabe were still partners in crime and their mom still loved being in front of a video camera or in the spotlight. Some things never change. However, some things had to.

Like Charlie's life at school. Thinking about it again, Charlie decided what to do. She knew it was right.

She headed up to her parent's bedroom, where she knew her mom was.

The door was closed. She knocked. Mother Ames answered the door and when she saw Charlie, she smiled warmly. "Hey, kiddo! How was your day? I was just doing yoga," she said while stretching. Well, that explains the crazy outfit, Charlie thought.

"No, not really." She said. Her mom's face turned from happy to confused. "What? Why not?" Charlie just shook her head. "Want to talk about it?" she said, heading back inside her bedroom, sitting on her bed and patting the space beside her. Charlie heavily sighed and headed inside.

/

When Charlie was done telling her the whole story for the first time, Amy looked horrified and furious beyond belief. She stood up and Charlie asked, "Mom- what are you doing?" with tons of fear in her voice. "Showing them what Momma Bear can do!" she said in a fierce tone, making Charlie even more frightened. "Yep, I've still got it."

They headed to the school and Amy got straight to the point. She told the principal everything that was happening and he said he'd never known about any of this. He called the girl's parents and they got suspended after a long, _long_ time of sitting in the principal's office, they got expelled. Charlie felt like getting up and happy dancing but she tamed herself. This may mean something's changed, but not everything. She still didn't have any friends.

Amy told her they were going to switch schools and that Bob was getting a new job that would give them the money to get through and keep the house they've had even before Charlie was born. That made Charlie even happier.

Charlie loved her new school. It was gorgeous and way better than her old school. Lots of people were nice to her and they never made mean remarks about her, to her face _or_ behind her back. There were still some people that didn't like her, but that was okay, because not everyone was going to, and, unlike her older sister, she was going to accept it and move on.

Three months later, they were still in the house. Bob's new job had really gotten them through and Charlie couldn't have been happier. She had friends over all the time and her siblings would be proud to call her their sister.

She got down to the last video diary eventually and she felt like crying. These had always been with her and she would miss them when they were over but everything has to end- right?

She hit the "play" button and Teddy's adult- face appeared on screen.

"Hey Charlie. So, I know how tough high school can be. Been there, done that. Yeah, so anyways, I wanted to let you know that this is the last video diary, but even so remember that I will be with you through anything and if you ever need me, just give me a call. I'm right here.

Gabe is currently working at a _prank store… _Isn't that crazy? I barely knew those existed! PJ is currently taking guitar lessons so he can become a real musician one day while working part- time at Quicky Chicky- yep, he's still there. Some things never change.

I'm all over the place- I'm auditioning for movies and working to get discovered. Your big sister's doing great, Charlie!

So, this will be a long road, but just remember, I'm with you every step of the way. Good luck Charlie."

**Author's Note: So that actually turned out nothing like "Thanks, I'll Need It," which is- well, I don't know. Good because that means I'm not copying and bad because I'm not as good?**

**Anyways, this story didn't really have much Toby because all throughout the story he was just- fine. I don't know. I'm not sure how to write Toby, so that's why he's not in it much.**

**So, tell me what you think! And don't be too harsh, because I'm going through some hard stuff right now. Just constructive criticism and everything.**

**Does anyone else who watches Good Luck Charlie have a huge crush on Jason Dolley? I am so in love with him. Seriously.**

**Anyways, I may write more soon but good bye for now! **

**:)**


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